Review of Collateral Damage (2002) by Adam F — 21 Mar 2014

As far as "Collateral Damage" goes, it's not bad, but it's nowhere near the top of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best films even if you eliminated the great ones that are on everybody's list. It doesn't deliver a strong over-the-top fantasy revenge story or a genuine look at the effects of a terrorist attack with civilians caught in the crossfire. The plot follows Gordy Brewer, who's family is caught in a terrorist attack. He decides to get some revenge and travels to Colombia to track down the man responsible: Claudio "El Lobo" Perrini (Cliff Curtis).

The villain is generic and not really believable, even for something that's as villainous as a terrorist. He is supposed to be a world renown terrorist (he even has a spooky foreign name "El Lobo") but if we're supposed to believe that this guy is a master explosives expert, why doesn't he send one of his mooks to do the dirty work for him while he sits back and does all of the brain work? It's not like this guy adds a personal touch to his terrorist attacks, like giving a message to the authorities or anything, he's just there at the scene of the crime so the movie doesn't have to build up several characters (like it would if our hero had to dispense with the immediate culprit and the higher ups that have hired him). He even does really questionable, stereotypical villainous things, like dispense of the minions that displease him. One of his goons gets offed by El Lobo in a fashion that is totally unbelievable and when you think about it, a straight-up waste of good resources. Schwarzenegger himself does a decent job acting as the grief-stricken father but it's not quite good enough to make up for the flaws in the film. It doesn't even feel like there are real consequences to the actions of the film. There's a scene in the movie where Gordy gets into a fight with a U.S. government agent and there are no repercussions for this whatsoever. We also never get to delve on the dark path that revenge can lead to. It seems pretty farfetched that if your goal is only to kill the one guy that crossed you and that guy happens to be a master terrorist with a decently sized army of followers that you would manage to keep your hands as clean as our protagonist does.

More interesting than our protagonist and our villain are the side characters we meet throughout; John Torturro and John Leguizamo have small roles that you think are going to come back because their characters actually feel pretty fleshed out for the limited screen time that they get but you really don't get much of a payoff for meeting them. The movie does pick up towards the end where there are some unexpected turns and a scene with a homeless man accidentally discovering a weapon that actually generates some pretty good tension too. The final climactic battle between Gordy and El Lobo is a big disappointment though and the very end is downright cheesy. You don't get the revenge fantasy you wish you could get as you place yourself in Gordy's shoes (a territory that is surely all too familiar for a lot of people considering the film was release in 2002) and you don't get any really solid dramatic moments or any smart discussions about the nature of terrorism either. The thriller elements are fine but that's only a segment of the movie. As an action film "Collateral Damage" works well enough but it leaves a lot to be desired. (On VHS, April 17, 2013).